I hope that I am able to ask this question in a way so that you will
understand what I mean

It is my understanding that if you keep wines long term - there will be
certain times (years?) that it will taste better than others. (So if
you keep a wine for 10 years it will taste different than if you waited
15 to open it) I could be wrong :/

I am looking for somewhere that there is perhaps a chart showing
vintage/area/best years to drink or something like that.

The reason I ask....

A few years ago (back when money was much tighter than it is now) I
bought my husband an "expensive" (relative to what we could normally
afford) bottle of wine - He has saved it. My concern is, how long is
too long to wait to open it - is there a way to know when we should
drink it??

In case it is important it is a bottle of

Caymus 1995 Cabernet

Thank you,

Roberta (in VA)

Roberta wrote:

> I am looking for somewhere that there is perhaps a chart showing
> vintage/area/best years to drink or something like that.

Roberta, you are correct that wines change with time and may taste
better or worse from year to year. The only universal truth is that all
wines will eventually taste bad if kept long enough ;-) The problem is
that each wine is different in how it ages, so generalizations are
difficult. Even the experts can't always get it right. However, that
doesn't stop them from generalizing, as you can see he
http://www.erobertparker.com/info/vintagechart1.asp


> Caymus 1995 Cabernet

A good wine from a good year. If it's been kept in a cool place (<60°
F), it should be drinking well now but also keep for a few more years.
If it's been stored at a higher temperature, open it soon. In any
event, you should feel free to open it sooner rather than later.

HTH
Mark Lipton

Roberta wrote:

> I hope that I am able to ask this question in a way so that you will
> understand what I mean
>
> It is my understanding that if you keep wines long term - there will
> be certain times (years?) that it will taste better than others. (So
> if you keep a wine for 10 years it will taste different than if you
> waited 15 to open it) I could be wrong :/


Your understanding is correct. Wine changes in the bottle. In general, most
wines get better for a while, then go downhill. Wine can be too young to
have reached its full potential, and it can be old enough that it no longer
tastes good at all.



> I am looking for somewhere that there is perhaps a chart showing
> vintage/area/best years to drink or something like that.
>
> The reason I ask....
>
> A few years ago (back when money was much tighter than it is now) I
> bought my husband an "expensive" (relative to what we could normally
> afford) bottle of wine - He has saved it. My concern is, how long is
> too long to wait to open it - is there a way to know when we should
> drink it??
>
> In case it is important it is a bottle of
>
> Caymus 1995 Cabernet


Yes, it's very important. How wine changes in the bottle, and how long it
lasts before starting to go downhill depends on several things: what part of
the world it's from, what the specific wine is, what the vintage is, and how
it's been stored. There are vintage charts that you can use as a guide
(Google will turn up lots of them), but they are never as specific as you
might like them to be, and no chart can take storage conditions into
consideration.

What many people do when they buy a wine to put away for aging is to buy a
case of it, estimate when it might be ready, then start tasting a bottle
every year from then on.

Getting back to your bottle, again, how it's been stored is very important,
but my guess is that is that either now or some time over the next few years
would a good time for it.

--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup

Mark Lipton wrote:
> Roberta wrote:
>
>> I am looking for somewhere that there is perhaps a chart showing
>> vintage/area/best years to drink or something like that.
>
>
> Roberta, you are correct that wines change with time and may taste
> better or worse from year to year. The only universal truth is that all
> wines will eventually taste bad if kept long enough ;-) The problem is
> that each wine is different in how it ages, so generalizations are
> difficult. Even the experts can't always get it right. However, that
> doesn't stop them from generalizing, as you can see he
> http://www.erobertparker.com/info/vintagechart1.asp
>
>
>> Caymus 1995 Cabernet
>
>
> A good wine from a good year. If it's been kept in a cool place (<60°
> F), it should be drinking well now but also keep for a few more years.
> If it's been stored at a higher temperature, open it soon. In any
> event, you should feel free to open it sooner rather than later.
>
> HTH
> Mark Lipton

Thank you - the chart (as well as your opinions) are very helpful. I
appreciate you taking the time to answer my question

Roberta (in VA)

Ken Blake wrote:
> Roberta wrote:
>
>
>>I hope that I am able to ask this question in a way so that you will
>>understand what I mean
>>
>>It is my understanding that if you keep wines long term - there will
>>be certain times (years?) that it will taste better than others. (So
>>if you keep a wine for 10 years it will taste different than if you
>>waited 15 to open it) I could be wrong :/
>
>
>
> Your understanding is correct. Wine changes in the bottle. In general, most
> wines get better for a while, then go downhill. Wine can be too young to
> have reached its full potential, and it can be old enough that it no longer
> tastes good at all.
>
>
>
>
>>I am looking for somewhere that there is perhaps a chart showing
>>vintage/area/best years to drink or something like that.
>>
>>The reason I ask....
>>
>>A few years ago (back when money was much tighter than it is now) I
>>bought my husband an "expensive" (relative to what we could normally
>>afford) bottle of wine - He has saved it. My concern is, how long is
>>too long to wait to open it - is there a way to know when we should
>>drink it??
>>
>>In case it is important it is a bottle of
>>
>>Caymus 1995 Cabernet
>
>
>
> Yes, it's very important. How wine changes in the bottle, and how long it
> lasts before starting to go downhill depends on several things: what part of
> the world it's from, what the specific wine is, what the vintage is, and how
> it's been stored. There are vintage charts that you can use as a guide
> (Google will turn up lots of them), but they are never as specific as you
> might like them to be, and no chart can take storage conditions into
> consideration.
>
> What many people do when they buy a wine to put away for aging is to buy a
> case of it, estimate when it might be ready, then start tasting a bottle
> every year from then on.
>
> Getting back to your bottle, again, how it's been stored is very important,
> but my guess is that is that either now or some time over the next few years
> would a good time for it.
>

Thank you very much for your opinion

after reading the opinions here I think I will try and convince him to
try it sometime this holiday season - it hasn't been stored in the best
of conditions(he is military and we move alot) we have made a great
effort to at least keep it on its side lol

thank you again and I will let you know how it turns out

Roberta

Roberta wrote:

> Ken Blake wrote:

>> Getting back to your bottle, again, how it's been stored is very
>> important, but my guess is that is that either now or some time over
>> the next few years would a good time for it.
>>
>
> Thank you very much for your opinion
>
> after reading the opinions here I think I will try and convince him to
> try it sometime this holiday season - it hasn't been stored in the
> best of conditions(he is military and we move alot) we have made a
> great effort to at least keep it on its side lol
>
> thank you again and I will let you know how it turns out


You're welcome. Glad to help.On its side is important, but storage
temperature is perhaps even more important.


--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup

Ken Blake wrote:
> Roberta wrote:
>
>
>>Ken Blake wrote:
>
>
>>>Getting back to your bottle, again, how it's been stored is very
>>>important, but my guess is that is that either now or some time over
>>>the next few years would a good time for it.
>>>
>>
>>Thank you very much for your opinion
>>
>>after reading the opinions here I think I will try and convince him to
>>try it sometime this holiday season - it hasn't been stored in the
>>best of conditions(he is military and we move alot) we have made a
>>great effort to at least keep it on its side lol
>>
>>thank you again and I will let you know how it turns out
>
>
>
> You're welcome. Glad to help.On its side is important, but storage
> temperature is perhaps even more important.
>
>

Unfortunatly I know When I bought it I had no idea....perhaps
someday I will have a wine fridge "thingy" Until then I will be more
selective about my purchases and not buy those that "require" some aging
to be good

Roberta (in VA)

In article >, says
....
>
>Roberta wrote:
>
>> I am looking for somewhere that there is perhaps a chart showing
>> vintage/area/best years to drink or something like that.
>
>Roberta, you are correct that wines change with time and may taste
>better or worse from year to year. The only universal truth is that all
>wines will eventually taste bad if kept long enough ;-) The problem is
>that each wine is different in how it ages, so generalizations are
>difficult. Even the experts can't always get it right. However, that
>doesn't stop them from generalizing, as you can see he
>http://www.erobertparker.com/info/vintagechart1.asp
>
>
>> Caymus 1995 Cabernet
>
>A good wine from a good year. If it's been kept in a cool place (<60°
>F), it should be drinking well now but also keep for a few more years.
>If it's been stored at a higher temperature, open it soon. In any
>event, you should feel free to open it sooner rather than later.
>
>HTH
>Mark Lipton

Roberta,

One little "aside" to Mark's excellent answer. A bit of the aging of a wine is
predicated on the taster's personal preferences. Some like more tannic reds in
their youth, rather than the more often prefered mellow, aged variety. Same
for whites - some like them young with every fruit nuance, while others like
them older with more incorporated elements, however with a bit less fruit,
than upon release. Only by sampling wines, either in tastings featuring older
v younger wines, or by purchasing, say a case, and then trying a bottle over
time, will one truly know what they like best, and it is likely to differ,
depending on the wine itself. Example: my wife likes younger Vintage Ports,
while I think she is experiencing them far too young. However, she likes them
that way, so I don't force my desire to age them for decades on ALL of the
VP's - each purchase gets some set aside for me much later, but a few bottles
get opened early on, for her.

Hunt

Hunt